Calcium is very vital for a sound health and development of your child. It is necessary for you to ensure that your child is getting enough calcium. You must plan his or diet accordingly so that he gets maximum benefits of calcium.
 

Here find out what role calcium plays in your child’s development, what prime sources rich in calcium are and how much calcium is necessary.
 

Role Calcium Plays in Your Child’s Development 

Calcium contributes in building well-built bones and teeth, promotes nerve and muscle functioning, helps in treating blood clot, and activates enzymes that convert food into energy. Nearly 99 percent of body's calcium stays stored in our teeth and bones. And as kids grow new bone all the time, they need a stable supply of calcium to maintain healthy growth.
 

Calcium as needed by your child

Ages 1 to 3 years: 700 milligrams (mg) per day
 

Ages 4 to 8 years: 1,000 mg per day
 

It’s not necessary for your child to get the recommended amount of calcium per day. Rather, you can aim for that quantity as a standard over the course of a few days or a week.
 

Dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese are the best sources of calcium. However, there are some other food products too which offer good amount of calcium. These include raw tofu prepared with calcium sulphate, blackstrap molasses, fruit yogurt, calcium-fortified orange juice, milk, chocolate milk, vanilla frozen yogurt, homemade pudding, cooked spinach and fortified cereal. 
 

Calcium content doesn’t get affected by fat, however; dietary fat present in the dairy products plays a vital role in the development of your child. Kids who are below the age of 2 should get half their calories from fat for a sound growth and brain development and thus they should be given only full-fat dairy products. But again, check with your doctor to know how much quantity the child needs to be given.  
 

How to maximize your child's calcium intake?

Health experts around the globe hold the view that kids today are getting lesser calcium as required. This is primarily because they drink loads of juice and other non-dairy drinks. Using the following steps, you can ensure your child gets enough calcium:
 

Make cereals, hot cocoa and soup using milk rather than water.
 

Instead of using regular milk in recipes, make use of evaporated milk 
 

Prepared fruit salads and top them with yogurt. 
 

Give them calcium-fortified juice, bread, and cereal.
 

Also note that Vitamin D helps body in absorbing the calcium, so ensure that your child gets an adequate amount of vitamin per day.